Change of leadership at Give Me a Chance

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Daughter of Charity Sister Arthur Gordon (left), who for the last three years has been executive director of Give Me a Chance, has been reassigned to Santa Barbara. Sister Martha Garcia, D.C., who has been the assistant director of the nonprofit's after-school program, has been appointed executive director.

OGDEN — Give Me A Chance, the nonprofit organization in Ogden run by the Daughters of Charity that teaches marketable skills for low-income women and provides an after-school program for children, will have a new executive director starting Jan. 30.

Sister Arthur Gordon, D.C., who has held the position since 2016, has been reassigned by her order. She will be succeeded by Sister Martha Garcia, D.C., currently the assistant director of the organization’s after-school program.

GMAC was started in 2010 by Sr. Maria Nguyen, D.C. She began by providing sewing classes to low-income women. That developed into the De Marillac Formal Attire boutique on Washington Boulevard in Ogden, which offers formal wear and alterations. In 2012, the demand for classes allowed GMAC to acquire a building on Grant Street, which now offers classes in computer literacy and English as a Second Language for adults, sewing/quilting and Arts for Spirituality for high school students and adults, and an afterschool/summer program for younger students.

The 2016 dedication of the Guadalupe Garden, adjacent to the Grant Street facility, was Sr. Maria’s last official event at GMAC. She was reassigned to California.

Sr. Maria laid the groundwork for GMAC, said Sr. Arthur of her predecessor. “I built on what she had already established.”

In the past three years, GMAC has expanded its networking in the Ogden community, strengthening ties with local organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Women in Business and various educational institutions, Sr. Arthur said. In addition, Onstage Ogden makes educational presentations at GMAC and provides passes for children to some events.

One of the most noticeable changes that has occurred in the past three years is that one of GMAC’s annual fundraisers was moved from Hub 801 to the Guadalupe Garden. The “Enchantment in the Garden” fundraiser continues to grow; last year was the largest yet, Sr. Arthur said.

With her new assignment, Sr. Arthur will move to Santa Barbara, Calif. to serve as vice president of mission for the Daughters of Charity.

She has fond memories of her time in Utah. “The most wonderful part, of course, was serving the women and children in the area, but also the opportunity to work with wonderful lay people who are so committed, like our advisory board, – they’re all professionals from the local community who have just helped me in so many ways – and then all the  volunteers in our program,” Sr. Arthur said. “I will miss that. I’ll miss that wonderful camaraderie.”

Sr. Martha, who had served on the GMAC advisory board before coming to Utah, arrived seven months ago and has been learning the area and adjusting to GMAC. She is bilingual English/Spanish, which has helped with her work with the children in the after-school program, she said. “I love it. The kids are great.”

Previously, Sr. Martha worked in school classrooms and administration in schools run by Daughters of Charity in Colorado, Arizona, California and Nevada, “and most of those places as principal of a school,” she said. She also taught all grades except fourth and kindergarten.

Sr. Martha plans to continue to build on the work of her predecessors, she said. One project already under way is the renovation of the Grant Street building to allow for more classrooms. Architectural plans have been drawn and they are seeking bids from contractors, Sr. Arthur said.

With Sr. Arthur’s departure, GMAC will have three Daughters of Charity on staff: Sr. Martha as executive director; Sr. Lucia-Lam Nguyen, D.C., the director of the Arts for Spirituality program; and Sr. Milagros Federico, D.C., director of the sewing program. They are helped by a number of volunteers to serve the organization’s clients, which include the 14 adults and six high school students in the sewing classes, 23 children registered in the afterschool program and the 22 students in the music class. The computer literacy class has a capacity of six.